Millions of dollars are about to roil the congressional race in Michigan’s 1st District, most likely dividing conservatives and throwing what was a close race for an open seat into disarray.

As Republican congressional candidates Dan Benishek and Jason Allen waged a July primary battle in northern Michigan, local telecommunications mogul Glenn Wilson, backed by several tea party groups, was planning radio ads and TV spots and buying a campaign bus for an independent bid.

Text Size

-

+

reset

POLITICO 44

On Monday, two days after Allen conceded to Benishek in a primary decided by just 15 votes, Wilson announced he planned to spend as much as $2 million to win the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Rep. Bart Stupak.

Wilson told POLITICO he will spend “whatever it takes” to win the race.

“I’ll put in every dime I have. If I have to, I’ll sell stock in my company to do it. One way or another, America’s got to stand up,” he said.

Benishek’s campaign has already called Wilson, imploring him to get out of the race. “We have talked to him. We did actually note that by him running, it would basically be an attempt to split the conservative vote,” said Benishek spokesman Jesse Osmer.

“He has every right to run. We’re confident, though, that conservatives will get behind Dan, that he is the only chance for a conservative to win and to hold that office, and it’s unfortunate if other people pretending to be conservative choose to run,” Osmer said.

Wilson made his fortune in telecommunications. He’s the owner of M-33 Access, which brought high-speed Internet to much of northern Michigan — and says he was inspired to run for Congress because the Federal Communications Commission has yet to respond to a regulatory request that would allow him to provide telephone service to a sick, elderly man who lived in a rural area that his company had wired.

National Republicans are already hammering Wilson because he applied for a combination of stimulus grants and loans so his company could expand northern Michigan’s broadband network.

“As someone who wanted to get rich off of the failed stimulus package, Glenn Wilson is going to have a tough time convincing Northern Michigan families that Washington needs more supporters of the Obama-Pelosi agenda,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Tom Erickson said in a statement. “It’s clear that Dan Benishek is the only candidate in this race who has the fiscal discipline we need to create jobs and grow the economy.” Wilson just finished cutting a radio ad — “As an independent, I bring solutions free from party politics. Unlike my opponents, I am not a professional politician, nor can I be bought by special interests,” it says — that will start airing on Friday.

He’s taking leave from his company to start a bus tour of the district beginning Friday, and he’ll have a lot of ground to cover. The 1st District includes Michigan’s entire Upper Peninsula, though many of its residents live south of the Mackinac Bridge in the Lower Peninsula’s northeastern corner.

Readers' Comments (6)

There is an error in your article. The Petoskey TEA party as a group, does not support Glen Wilson or any other candidate individually, and Rich Carlson has not been attending our meetings forcing us to appoint Dennis Kelly as leader temporarly. At the last meeting a motion was made to support Republican Candidates only in this Novembers election because of the Fake Tea parties and independant parties attempt to divide the Republican party. Conservatives must learn to stick together even if a candidate is not 100 percent perfect, or they guarentee business as usual.

DonBmcd- Those voters who follow the fringe parts of the 'Tea Party Movement(s) seem to only hear or watch FOX broadcasts, rarely read The Congressional Record and cast their ballots based on falty information = This combination of an ill-prepared electorate and a "far-right media blitzt" does hurt the "We The People" faction of The Democratic Party by diluting Congressional Districts ....

When you don't have real solutions then you use Tea Party Activist to divide the ill-prepared voters ...

Another reason why The Republican Party "Needs" a 'Time Out' to restructure as would a failed bank or bankrupt business ...

Maybe by 2018 we Independents will again have Two (2) Viable, Healthy Political Parties ... for 2010, we just have the "Donkey's Clean Up Crew" that at least know how to get US back on the Global Playing Field....

"We The People" can blame that "Activist Supreme Court (The Robert's/GOP one that's currently in-charge) for taking away our "One Man/ One Vote" and giving The "K" Street Big Corporate Lobby Machine equal status to voters = they can run their own ads, give as must money as they choose and, in effect, Buy Votes . . .

There is an error in your article. The Petoskey TEA party as a group, does not support Glen Wilson or any other candidate individually, and Rich Carlson has not been attending our meetings forcing us to appoint Dennis Kelly as leader temporarly. At the last meeting a motion was made to support Republican Candidates only in this Novembers election because of the Fake Tea parties and independant parties attempt to divide the Republican party. Conservatives must learn to stick together even if a candidate is not 100 percent perfect, or they guarentee business as usual.

Aw, come on. What fun is it building a loud and disruptive noise machine if it doesn't go out of control and disrupt things? The Tea Parties are portly Cheetos-fed Frankenstein's monsters poised to turn on their Republican creators at any time. It's the problem with rage as a political strategy. Eventually it goes out of control.

The Tea Parties have provided some short term benefits to the GOP, but in the long run they're going to have a much worse and longer term effect on the GOP than the Perot movement did.